Political Characteristics Research Articles

Socio-Technical Energy Systems: Configurations That Work Better for Some

The political character of the energy transition requires a fine-grained perspective on the power games occurring to bring it about. There are approaches specifically geared towards calling out the identity-based inequalities in such social processes termed as grand challenges, and then there are those specialised in studying the role of technology in the energy system and how actors in that system interact with these technologies. Feminist social scientists have highlighted the entanglements of intersectionality with technology in general and energy more specifically. At the same time, the literature on Science and Technology Studies (STS) emphasizes a social dimension, e.g., how technology is co-constructed by societal actors or how large technical systems structure our daily lives. Of relevance for feminist social scientists, STS approaches are well-positioned to analyse how technology creates, re-enacts, or mirrors power asymmetries. STS approaches understand technologies as socio-technical systems that inadvertently incorporate societal realities in production and consumption which allows an analysis of the covert seats of power in socio-technical systems. Similarly, energy systems have been a popular research object in STS due to their large-scale, often high-tech character, especially when considering modern energy technologies. Regardless of the common scope of intersectionality and STS regarding power asymmetries, there is still significant room for “hybridization” of these approaches. Although the energy domain has seen efforts being made with the development of notions such as energy poverty, energy justice, or energy democracy, the hybridization effort with STS has not been taken further significantly. This paper, we contributes to the hybridization of the STS and intersectionality lenses.

Governance of university continuing education in Germany. A scoping review of research in a game-changing area

The governance of academic continuing education is an area of research that has received little attention to date. On the one hand, this may be related to the fact that it plays a minor role as a “third mission” area at universities. On the other hand, governance mechanisms in higher education are necessarily closely linked to its political, financial, and contextual characteristics, which require differentiation from educational governance more broadly. Based on a scoping review, the existing research on the governance of university-based continuing education in the German higher education system has been systematically prepared using a multi-level model. This shows a comprehensive view across all levels, which makes use of broad theoretical references and is qualitatively oriented in terms of research methodology.

Stalin’s Creation & Jackson’s Contribution

Interest in the Nuremberg trials is booming once again. Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg—by Francine Hirsch, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—is about the Soviet role in the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg. The book has acquired new relevance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 in violation of international law. Strikingly, not only have the Ukrainian government, and some Western politicians and scholars of international law floated the idea of a new Nuremberg Tribunal, Russian Duma members have as well. Writing recently in Time magazine, Hirsch argued that indicting Vladimir Putin and leading Russian politicians for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression would require the creation of an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal or Special Tribunal. Such an indictment, however, should not have a political character, Hirsch points out, but such a trial would offer the possibility of creating a “complete historical record.” A “Nuremberg 2.0” organized by the Russian government would be a “dark alternative” in Hirsch’s eyes. She writes in Time magazine: “This would inevitably be a Soviet-style show trial—a kangaroo court that would degrade international law and could taint the meaning of Nuremberg forever.”1 This viewpoint—that the Soviet Union was fixed on political show trials much as the Putin government may be today—is reflected in Hirsch’s book. However, Hirsch also suggests that international criminal trials always have a political character or partisan interest that must be considered ambivalently: in a positive light, because there is a didactic goal in coming to terms with the past through criminal proceedings; and in a negative light, because impartiality is questionable if the crimes of only one warring party are tried.

MODERN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE-INDUSTRY TOWNS

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that at present the problem of sustainable socio-economic development of single-industry towns is among the priorities of state policy. The world practice of the development of single-industry towns contains the experience of restructuring the economy on the basis of state and regional support measures. The key role in these events is played by the social orientation of the events. Unemployment insurance occupies an important place, the unemployed suffer from this, as well as working people with a low level of quality of life. The implementation of these programs is supported by the activities of public organizations, as well as local authorities and businesses, which, consolidating, jointly solve the problems of the city on the basis of public-private partnership. Many foreign examples show that those regions benefit, which, due to historical conditions and the well-being of the territory, were able to create a situation of investment and social attractiveness, ensuring the creation of competitive industrial zones. They also showed the need for a differentiated approach to solving these problems, taking into account the national, territorial and political characteristics of each city (locality). Currently, the development of single-industry towns is a complex problem in which social issues are inseparable from economic, legal, and political issues. The solution of this problem is necessary to unite the efforts of all levels of government, including public organizations, trade unions, as well as the direct interests of the population of single-industry towns.

Fiscal capacity and commercial bank lending under COVID-19

We investigate the implications of government indebtedness for the efficacy of expansionary government spending in encouraging commercial bank lending growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sample is a large cross-section of over 3000 banks from 71 countries. To address the likely endogeneity of government assistance, we instrument for extra-normal spending using disparities in pre-existing national political characteristics. Our results indicate that bank lending did respond to fiscal capacity, as higher public debt going into the crisis weakened the expansionary effects of higher spending on bank lending at economically and statistically significant levels. Moreover, this sensitivity was higher among weaker banks, suggesting sensitivity to the perceived implications of spending for government assistance going forward. We also found greater sensitivity in high-income economies and for small and medium-sized banks. Our results are robust to a variety of robustness tests, including perturbations in specification, sample, and estimation methodology.

Developing Effective Project Management Strategy for Urban Flood Disaster Prevention Project in EDO State Capital, Nigeria

Emphasizing the need to provide a coordinated flood management strategy in the country and avoid acting in an isolated way when it occurs, improving the attitude of flood control during floods, and controlling floods with comprehensive analysis are among the main purposes of the current study. In this study, the environment’s physical, technological, social, economic, and political characteristics are considered to assess the urban flood risk. This study entails a discussion of flood hazard control in Benin City, the capital city of Edo State of Nigeria. The research methodology involves employing both interviews and questionnaire distribution. First, three key persons involved in flood control are interviewed at the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), which coordinates disaster risk reduction in the state, and then, the responses are classified into themes that are used to prepare the questionnaire to be distributed in four main regions. The questionnaires are distributed to the employees in institutions concerned with flood control and to the general population living in the region. Based on the obtained results from the interviews, some methods that could be applicable in controlling flooding in the region are listed. The results showed that the most important ones are flood warning systems, flood prevention through using the building resilient infrastructure and community programs, protection and mitigation through using natural processes, and strategic implementation of a flood emergency plan through sustainability.

Voting Behaviour in the 19th German Bundestag and Beyond: Between the Daily Business of Unity and a Special Vote of Conscience

ABSTRACT The literature on the voting behaviour of members of parliament (MPs) has two prominent strands: the study of dissenting voting behaviour in whipped votes and of voting behaviour in votes of conscience. This article examines both aspects for the 19th German Bundestag (2017–2021). First, we assess the determinants of dissenting voting behaviour in all whipped votes in this term and compare them to the three previous terms of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship. Logistic multi-level regressions show that mostly political factors account for lower (offices, electoral security) or higher (parliamentary experience, GDR socialisation) defection rates. Second, we assess the determinants of voting behaviour on the organ donation reform in 2020. Theoretically, we identify a value conflict between self-determination and collective health interests that substantially differs from earlier free votes. Logistic regression analyses reflect this conflict: Besides individual religious denomination and union or party membership, it is especially constituency characteristics such as the share of Catholics that affect voting behaviour. Consequently, voting on free votes is affected by both political and personal characteristics of the MP. Overall, we show that MPs are exposed to various and, depending on what the vote is on, different influences that have to be reconciled.

The Roles of Religious Organizations in the Decline of the Anti-mining Movement in Banyuwangi, East Java

Abstract Although the Banyuwangi anti-mining movement clearly has the capacity to grow, this article argues that the movement’s manoeuvres against PT. BSI seem to have become weaker since 2017. The article seeks to explain how the interests of the internal groups within this local social movement have weakened its position and how religious-nationalist organizations, that is, the NU and its affiliates, have manoeuvred to defend the state and the corporation indirectly. The data have been qualitatively collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGD s), and relevant documentary sources. By using the Gramscian concept of hegemony, this article shows that the decline of the anti-mining movement is related to the agenda-setting of individuals and subgroups in the movement, as well as the ability of religious-nationalist pro-mining groups, such as the NU and its affiliates, to use their influence, legitimacy, and ideological rhetoric to this end, combined with some social and political characteristics of East Javanese society.

STYLE OF POLITICAL PREACHING OF IMAM MALIK BIN ANAS ( AMAM OF DARELHIJRAH ) THROUGH HIS CORRESP ONDENCE WITH CALIPH HAROON ELRASHEED AND HIS MINISTER YEHYA BIN KHALID AL – BARMAKI


 
 
 Political characters in Islam are outnumbered, however their cultural sources varries according to their cultural resources and ethnic affiliation. When men of religion involve in politics, policy will wear a religions cloak So it is a legitimate policy under the religion because it is part of religion as it is the case in Imam Malik bin Anas through his trea tise in Sunnahs, preaches, Literatures for Haroon elrasheed and his minister yahya bin khalid Al-Barmaki in an attempt to create the core of concepts of politics and governance in Islam In order to support the Caliphate Foundation against competing cultures on the ground.
 
 

Promoting a New Kind of Education: Greek and Roman Philosophical Protreptic, by Daniel Markovich

Promoting a New Kind of Education: Greek and Roman Philosophical Protreptic, by Daniel Markovich

Voting decision‐making of low‐income consumers: Literature review and research agenda

AbstractThis review article examines why and how low‐income voters decide to vote for a political candidate. A total of 163 articles in the last 80 years (1944–2023) have been identified through a systematic literature review. Thereafter, the fragmented literature has been organized using a fusion of 3W1H and TCCM (Theory, context, characteristics, and method) frameworks to obtain a comprehensive overview of the low‐income voters' behaviour. Accordingly, the study has explained the voting contexts of poor consumers. Besides, the fundamental theories and methods employed in this research domain have been identified. This study revealed three characteristics of ‘voting choice’ of low‐income consumers (group identity, communication characteristics, and political environment characteristics) that have been further classified under several sub‐themes. This review article pioneers to provide an integrated and organized analysis of the literature on the voting behaviour of low‐income consumers, highlighting critical research gaps in theories, contexts, methods, and antecedents that future researchers can examine to extend the discourse in this realm.

Who does COVID-19 hurt most? Perceptions of unequal impact and political implications

While the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. population health has been devastating, it has not affected everyone equally. The risks of hospitalization and death from the disease are relatively low for the population as a whole, but much higher for specific subpopulations defined by age, health status, and race or ethnicity. The extent to which Americans perceive these disparities is an open question, with potentially important political implications. Recognition of unequal impacts may prime concerns about justice and fairness, making Americans more concerned and willing to support government intervention. On the other hand, belief that the pandemic primarily threatens “other people” or out-groups may reduce, rather than increase, a person's concern. Partisanship and media consumption habits are also likely to play a role in these perceptions, as they do in most issues related to COVID-19. In this paper, we use original survey data from the Cooperative Election Study (N = 1000) to explore Americans' perceptions of which groups are most harmed by the pandemic, the demographic and political determinants of these perceptions, and the relationship of these perceptions with their opinions about COVID-related mitigation policy. We find that, on average, people perceived accurately that certain groups (e.g., Black Americans, older people) were more affected, but these group perceptions varied by demographic and political characteristics of respondents. We find, in contrast with recent experimental evidence, that the perception that populations of color were harmed was associated with more support for pandemic mitigation strategies. More research should investigate the relationships among pandemic politics and the racial dynamics of the target populations most affected.

Mamluk leadership between religious and political arrangements under Sultan Baybars’ rule

This research aims to show the role of Sultan Baybars (d. 1277CE), in contributing to the support and consolidation of the Mamluk state in Egypt and the Levant on Islamic foundations, which gave Baybars an Islamic leader who bears the appropriate titles like the senior Muslim leaders who preceded him. This study will examine Baybars’ political characteristics and leadership in light of Islamic norms of conduct and culture. Baybars proved his military abilities through his victory and success in two decisive battles: al-Manṣūra against the Crusaders (Franks) in 1249 and ʿAyn Jālūt against the Mongols in 1260. In 1261, he came to power by force after the assassination of Sultan Quṭuz. This aspect of Baybars’ rule (r. 1260–1277) is referred to by Muslim scholars as wilāya jabriyya or istīlā’ (ruling by force). Baybars acted in various fields of religion and politics (sharīʿa and siyāsa) until he managed to achieve stability, security, and a powerful Islamic regime. Therefore, the Baybars deserved the title qasīm amīr al-mu’minīn” (partner of the Commander of the Faithful, i.e., the Caliph), which was given to him by the restored Caliph in Cairo, in addition to other titles that testify to his high-ranking religious status as a defender of Islam. This research relied on the method of literary research on the personality of Sultan Baybars, through comparison and analysis of his characteristics and approach to governance, as mentioned in contemporary historians’ works who documented Baybars’ biography and the sources of the Mamluk era. This paper also relied on conclusions and extrapolations of Baybars’ personality through official documents and letters received from him or issued for him, in addition to recent historical literature and research on Baybars and the Mamluk era.1

Institutional context and life satisfaction: does the rule of law moderate well-being inequalities?

ABSTRACT An emerging strand of research emphasizes the role of the macro institutional context in shaping the social distribution of well-being. This article examines the variations in the association between political power and subjective well-being by how the rule of law is instituted across societies. Two hypotheses of the rule of law role are tested: (a) power-tempering and (b) power-enhancement hypotheses. We use a unique dataset of 30,491 individuals from 27 countries with diverse social and political characteristics. We first confirmed the relationship between individuals’ perceptions of their positions in the power hierarchy and their overall satisfaction with their lives using models with country-level fixed effects. Moreover, this relationship significantly varies across countries, and the Rule of Law Index explains part of the variation, as indicated by random-effects models. In societies with well-defined, universally applicable, and fair laws, the association of one’s position of power and subjective well-being is reduced. Our study illustrates that institutions of better quality and functioning may equalize access to well-being.

Situación del narcotráfico y amenazas a la seguridad en el valle del Río Putumayo

is study analyzes the drug trafficking situation and security threats, seeks to determine the impact, consequences and possible scenarios; through a qualitative study for the design of a strategic route of security and development. The purpose is to contribute to the strengthening and improvement of the joint and integrated performance of the participation of the Law Enforcement Forces and other State institutions and to combat illegal activities in the national territory of the department of Loreto. The methodology used was prospective to study the historical, present and future behavior of a set of variables from the global and regional context on political, social, economic, health and national defense characteristics of the territory. The visit made tothe city of Iquitos, Loreto Region, helped to anticipate and identify dangers and opportunities of future situations. In this way, the main internal variables that characterize the territory and are representative of the regional reality have been recognized; concluding, among others, that the main cause of drug trafficking in the Putumayo river basin, as well as related crimes and the poor development and very low competitiveness of the Department of Loreto is its lack of terrestrial connectivity. This makes the logistics of maintaining a long-term presence of the State in that border region very complex and expensive. Loreto's connectivity with the rest of the country is only via air and river, the latter being cheaper than the former, but unfortunately dependent, so river transport of large volumes of cargo is only possible in certain periods of the year.

사법부와 정치위기

This study discusses on the presidential impeachment perceiving it as a constitutional device to overcome the internal political crisis - the loss of the president's control of state affairs - within the constitutional system. With so much power concentrated on the president, the president's vacancy can lead to a serious power vacuum. Whether this crisis can be resolved and turned into a stable phase is entirely left to the decision maker, the Constitutional Court. It might be wrong to leave the final judgment to the judicial branch even though the presidential impeachment is a political dispute. But the political nature of the presidential impeachment does not automatically make the Constitutional Court's decision political. Rather, the stronger the political character, the more faithful the Constitutional Court will try to be to the literary and logical interpretation based on normative principles. In the two presidential impeachment cases, the Constitutional Court used the principle of prohibition of excessive restriction, particularly balancing test, in the process of argumentation for conclusion.

المواقف السياسية للنخبة الجزائرية مع مطلع القرن 20

The beginning of the twentieth century in Algeria witnessed the decline and decline of popular resistance with the crystallization of the demands of the Algerian youth, especially after the year 1912, when their demands and discourses began to take a political character by rejecting the exceptional measures related to forced conscription while demanding equality and inclusion in the hope of improving the general conditions of Algerians. The problem of this research falls within the first axis of the forum, which revolves around the classical political discourse and the historical study in its part related to the similarities of political discourse and the revolutionary movement in Algeria before independence. In research on the nature of the political discourse of the national elite in its opposition to the French colonial authorities Especially when she expressed her position on forced conscription and the extent of its impact on the political discourse that the national movement will adopt in its various directions later on.

Water-related conflicts: definitions, data, and trends from the water conflict chronology

Violence associated with freshwater resources has occurred throughout recorded history, with water triggering violence and armed conflict, water or water systems being used as weapons, and water or water systems becoming casualties during conflicts. Understanding the causes of water-related violence and regional and temporal trends is critical for identifying priority areas for conflict resolution and strategies to reduce the risk of future conflicts. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the structure, content, and design of The Water Conflict Chronology, an open-source online database, which tracks water-related conflicts from around the globe. Some analysis is provided with caveats about the limitations of the data, but further analysis will be forthcoming. The database is updated approximately annually using information from other conflict-related databases, news reports, eyewitness accounts, and a review of historical documents. As of October 2022, the Chronology had 1298 entries, from the earliest events around 2400 BCE through early 2022. Initial analysis of data shows trends in the nature, location, and social and political characteristics of water-related violence, including a sharp increase in water-related violence in recent years, especially where water has been a trigger or casualty of violence, a concentration of events in the Middle East, southern Asia, and the Sahel, and the increased targeting of civilian water systems during civil and regional armed conflicts.

Refining wind and solar potential maps through spatial multicriteria assessment. Case study: Colombia

Despite the abundance of energy resource assessments for wind and solar power around the globe, the existing studies seldom integrate the environmental restrictions into the analysis, which results in overestimation of the available resources. Existing potential maps show that wind and solar resources are abundant in Colombia, but these studies do not consider the multiple restrictions developers face when a project is considered. This paper proposes a methodology to determine the areas with the best characteristics to develop wind and photovoltaic solar farms in Colombia, using Geographic Information Systems that depict the distribution of the physical, biotic, economic, cultural, and political characteristics restricting or conditioning the implementation of these projects. To consider financial performance, the LCOE associated with each location was subsequently calculated, and the environmental characteristics were assessed through interviews with a group of experts. Maps were developed where the areas with potential can be viewed, classified according to their profitability and the ease of developing a project at that location. The most promising locations for wind and solar farms for the continental territory of Colombia were determined integrating levels of difficulty in the environmental management, and financial project performance. The results were unified in a tool useful for stakeholders, decision-makers, researchers, and investors, in which basically no technical knowledge is required for its interpretation. The results allow estimating the real installable potential in each technology throughout the Colombian territory and providing signals for the national interconnected system (SIN) on where the country's new energy developments are expected to take place.

Political Consciousness of Roman People in the Age of Tribune Tiberius Gracchus

The political career of Tiberius Gracchus embodies the mixed characteristics of aristocrat politics and popular politics, which is the incision to understand the connotation of the crisis of the late Roman Republic. After the ouster of M. Octavius and the passing of the decision to allocate Attalus’ legacy under the support of the Roman people, the relationship between Tiberius as the leader of the people and the opposers of him in Senatus suddenly became tense, and the Roman politics eventually led to a rupture and chaos. Therefore, the Roman people are the key to inflating the differences among the elites, and public action and its consequences are the keys to understanding the crisis. The consciousness of Roman people varied in different groups and interacted with different tactics of politician elites. The over-mobilized tactics aroused the Roman people’s political consciousness of popular sovereignty, which became an essential power source in Roman society. Out-controlled people’s politics would finally trigger the crisis in the late republic.